Contaminated bunker fuel has been sold in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, and has likely been sold to other ports in Asia, local fuel surveyor Maritec has warned in a note to clients seen by Reuters last week.
Six samples of ship fuel sold in Singapore had “resulted in severe sludging at centrifuges, clogged pipelines, overwhelmed fuel filters” according to the Maritec alert.
The test results of the Singapore samples sugest both Estonian type oil shale and US type fracked shale oil have been sold into Singapore, the surveyor said.
“Fuels from Singapore are exported to all ASEAN countries and even all the way to Hong Kong. It should be therefore be expected that the whole region will be affected,” Maritec said.
More than 100 vessels loaded similarly contaminated fuel in the US Gulf Coast, Panama and the Dutch Antilles earlier this year resulting in a number of vessel breakdowns.
Overheard at Raffles Place Starbucks…
“Excuse me, there is oil in my cappuccino.”